Incendiary South African sound

South Africa's Die Antwoord creates racing, racy electro-hip-hop with touches of dancehall and dubstep thrown into its overheated mix.

Inside that sound, MC Ninja and singer Yo-Landi also use a hardened brand of hometown slang. With that occasionally foul vernacular and their particular patois, Ninja and Yo-Landi - who perform in English and Afrikaans - identify themselves as "Zef" in terms of musical style and fashion sense. They are posh but not posh, poor yet fancy, rocking gold in the face of poverty. They even make outlandish videos that would make David Fincher flinch.

Their last album, $O$ (featuring "Evil Boy" produced with Philly's own Diplo) made them famous. Their brand new Ten$Ion could bring them greater acclaim. This is spelled out succinctly because once the interview with Ninja starts, this MC/Vanilla Ice look-alike speaks just like he raps: fast with a dense accent and a heavy emphasis on the F-word.

"My man, my man, my man," says Ninja, speaking from his new home in Johannesburg. "We had to move from Cape Town because we're so famous. Aaaack, I preferred walking all over the place. Cape Town is grimier."

Tell him that the griminess that figures so prominently in their musical style has made them icons of flash in America, and Ninja seems both pleased and unconcerned. They don't care if America gets what Die Antwoord does. All they know is that we're mad about them.

"We get in deep. All our audiences do as well."

Since the band's name means "the answer" in Afrikaans, it's logical to wonder what the question was in the first place. Ninja says their goal was finding a "unique zone." As Die Antwoord's lyrics grew more personal, their vibe grew "more gangster" and their music ragingly electric.

"Beat Boy," in Ninja's estimation, was their first true song - a personal best. "That opened up new dimensions in my brain, to my subconscious. After that I was married to Die Antwoord."

Philadelphia remixer/producer Diplo became part of that engagement when he started Tweeting about the band.

"Diplo was the first famous person to talk us up, our flavor. We have a similar vibe."